'The Following's newest cast addition talks latest episode

Last week's episode of Fox's "The Following" gave viewers a glimpse at how vast Joe Carroll's cult has become. Monday's episode, "Welcome Home," introduced us to some of the new faces, including Carroll's right-hand man 'Roderick', a man who up until now has been orchestrating his idol's plan from the shadows. Warren Kole, who plays Roderick on the thriller series, spoke with Entertainment Weekly joining the series and his mysterious character.

The actor confesses that from audition to his first day on the set, he was as in the dark as many fans of the show are about his enigmatic character. "I was able to talk with Kevin [Williamson] and with Fox a little when they were looking to introduce this character. In the audition, I went in and read to give an idea of what I was thinking of," Kole said. "But the part I created in the read, once I arrived on set, had absolutely nothing to do with who this guy actually was. So it was more just a quality they were looking for. They were looking to me to dive in once I got there. That’s sort of how Kevin works and how the show works. It’s a challenge for all of us to sort of sit there and bite your nails and wanna know more but you’re gonna find out what you find out when you find out."

He continued, "As the story progresses, I think it’s more apparent that Roderick is kind of a creation. He’s the kind of genius creation of this Dr. Frankenstein and he’s being used to serve a greater objective that he’s not really aware of, not even Roderick, nobody except for Joe Carroll."

Kole hinted that as the big picture takes shape, his character may not be content with the role he plays. "As [Carroll's plan] becomes clearer to even Roderick, there’s a power struggle that just might start to rise up between these two guys because Roderick has a lot of leverage too," Kole teased. "He’s second in command to Joe Carroll. He’s the lieutenant on this operation. He’s got a lot of sway with this two-sided personality, this alter ego."

His influence over the other members of the cult stems from his managing the deviant personalities up until their mentor's arrival. The actor said, "He’s sort of been playing the good cop at this retreat. Then Joe shows up and he’s playing the good cop. Then, Roderick doesn’t have the power he had anymore. What does this mean? How loyal can you be when your trust has been eroded? There’s another bit of mystery—just how intimate is the relationship? I mean we kill together."

He teased, "I think you’re going to see a real progressive unfolding of what appears to be a very sane and likable man as the situation becomes less firm, as he’s less positive about Joe’s intentions. You’re gonna get more of a regression to the flashbacks, younger Roderick. You’re gonna see how it ties all together."